Top names in Wales

18/02/2018

If you named your son Ralph in 2016, chances are you live in the south of England, according to newly released data from the Office for National Statistics, but if you named your son Cole, you most likely live up north. The data release lists all the names given to three or more babies ranked according to popularity solely within the nine official regions of England, and also Wales.

In this post, I have identified all the names which appeared in the top 100 of each individual region that did not rank in the overall top 100 for England and Wales combined.

The following table is a breakdown of the ranks of the names which appear above:

If you named your daughter Annie in 2016, chances are you live in the north of England according to newly released data from the Office for National Statistics. The data release lists all the names given to three or more babies ranked according to popularity solely within the nine official regions of England, and also Wales.

In this post, I have identified all the names which appeared in the top 100 of each individual region that did not rank in the overall top 100 for England and Wales combined.

The differences are interesting. For example, Alexandra is a top 50 pick in London alone yet #113 overall. Hallie is more popular in the North; Bonnie is more popular in the South.

.The following table is a breakdown of the ranks of the names which appear above:

28/12/2016

If you named your son Alfred in 2015, chances are you live in the south of England, according to newly released data from the Office for National Statistics, but if you named your son Lincoln, you most likely live up north. The data release lists all the names given to three or more babies ranked according to popularity solely within the nine official regions of England, and also Wales.

Kevin ranks #85 in London alone, though it only ranks #175 nationally. Layton and Joey are unique to the top 100 in the North East as is Maxwell in the South East.

The regions also reflect the different proportions of ethnic populations. The East Midlands features several Polish names, London and the West Midlands are high in Arabic names, and the North West has a liking for Irish names. London -- being the cultural melting pot that it is -- has the highest number of names in its top 100 that differ from the national picture.

In this post, I have identified all the names which appeared in the top 100 of each individual region that did not rank in the overall top 100 for England and Wales combined:

The following table is a breakdown of the ranks of the names which appear above:

30/04/2016

Seren is a Welsh name, taken from the vocabulary word seren "star." The word was adopted as a given name in the mid 20th century.

Prior to that, an obscure Welsh name Saeran was borne by an early Welsh saint. Little is known of St Saeran other than he was the son of Geraint Saer of Ireland. Sear meant "carpenter, wright, artisan" in Old Welsh. With the diminutive suffix -an Saeran essentially meant "Sear the younger."

Serin is also the name of a small European finch, closely related to the canary. The scientific name Serinus serinus is thought to derive from the French name for the canary, serin, which itself is thought to be a corruption of the Latin citrinus "lemon-like (coloured)".

Usage:

Despite being the name of an early Welsh saint to whom a church is dedicated in Llanynys, Denbighshire, I can find no evidence that Saeran was ever used as a given name in Wales or Britain in general.

Seren itself was first registered in England and Wales in the late 1940s. It was rare at first but gradually increased in usage by the 1990s as birth registrations in England and Wales show:

Middle names (such as Seren Thomas in 1988 and Seren Anthony in 1989) suggest that, initially, it was a unisex name. Since 1996, Seren has ranked five times for boys in England and Wales: 1997 (3 births), 2001 (6 births), 2002 (3 births), 2005 (3 births) and 2013 (3 births). [To rank, a name needs 3 births or more that year].

click to enlarge

By 1996, Seren had become an established name -- particularly in native Wales -- ranking #539 (46 births) overall.

It first hit the top 100 in Wales in 1997 at #90 (37 births). In England that year, on the other hand, it only ranked #1237 (14 births), giving it a combined rank of #520.

Over he following decade, Seren raced up the charts, particularly in Wales but also as well in England though not as dramatically.

In 2007, Seren reached #7 (222 births) in Wales and #328 in England [#156 combined]. It peaked in 2009 at #3 (256 births) in Wales, and at #149 (335 births) in England in 2013.

08/01/2016

Will Isla be the next #1 name? Surely Florence isn't far from the top 10?

In this post I will be examining girls' names in England and Wales which, up until 2014 (the last point of data), have been continually rising in usage.

First let's look at the names within the Top 100 which are currently rising. Unlike the boys' names, girls' names with sharp spikes are more common to come by.

However, a rise in rank and an increase in birth count don't always correlate, so there were a few names which didn't make this chart. The ranks of Poppy, Isabella, Sophia, Isabelle and Sienna went up from 2013 to 2014 but the birth count actually went down in each case.

Upswing Names in the Top 100:

Then there are the names below the top 100. Their upward curves could indicate future fame.

Upswing Names in the Top 300:

Three names just a itching to break into the top 100 are the Hollywood inspired Penelope, Elsa and Mila. Look out for them in the 2015 statistics!

With botanical vintage choices like Lily, Daisy, Rose, Ivy and Violet in vogue, it is little wonder that Iris, Olive and Pearl are on an upward curve. Pearl has recently featured as a new baby in Eastenders this year, so expect to see more of it next year.

The enduring legacy of Downton Abbey has had an impact not only on popular culture, but also names. Edith has been marching up the charts since the series began, as has diminutive for Edie (given a further boost this year when it was used by Keira Knightley). Similarly, Cora has also risen since the show's airing.

In the same vein as Edith and Cora, other two syllable Victoriana names are becoming fashionable, leading to a rise in Clara, Ada and Nina -- which reached the Scottish top 100 in 2015.

Other two-syllable -a ending names are also on the rise such as the Celtic Orla and the celestial Luna and Lyra.

Speaking of celestial, American imports Skyla/Skylar and Hallie have also made their way over the Atlantic and are making waves here.

Isabelle, Isabella, Annabelle and Bella are firm favourites up in the top 100, so it's little wonder that other bell names are on the up.

These three A-A names have already made it into Scotland's top 100 thanks to a boost popular TV shows.

Songstress Ariana Grande has help boost this spelling of the name, and the alternate Arianna has reached #81 in Scotland. Another A-a name, Aliza is similarly rising.

These A-a names really are a trend! They're clearly following number one favourite Amelia.

Sweet bouncy B names Bonnie and Betsy have been rising quickly since 2008. Following behind Penelope's success, diminutive Penny is also on the upswing.

Ever since the Royal Wedding of 2011, Pippa (the world's most famous bridesmaid) has been on the rise. Maggie has had a celebrity boost from Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Marnie has had a hefty boost from popular culture.

Ladylike names with a Continental flair are also on the rise such as French Elodie and Italian Eliana. Sweet Felicity is getting a boost from rising actress Felicity Jones.

Other latinised Exotic Traditionals are also rising, as can be seen with Liliana, Beatrix and Valentina.

27/08/2015

For the third year running Amelia, bolstered by homonym Emilia, took the number one spot in 2014 when spellings are combined, followed again by Lily.

Muhammad claimed the top spot again for fifth time in the last six years for the boys, followed by Oliver. This is not surprising, given that many Muslim parents give their sons the name (in various spellings) as a first name, often honourifically and symbolically, even if they are most often known by their middle name.

Most notably, Arabic names perform well in the combined spellings rankings, as their are many different ways of transliterating Arabic script into English. Similarly, Irish names Aiden, Keira, Caitlin and Niamh benefitted from the combining of the native Irish forms with the anglicised spellings.

Kayden, Louie, Elliot, Darcey, Maya, Esme, Sarah and Lexi are the highest movers into the Top 50.

Here is a brief rundown of the combined spellings Top 30 (the second number denotes the name's original, individual, ONS rank):

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

MUHAMMAD

OLIVER

JACK

HARRY

JACOB

CHARLIE

THOMAS

OSCAR

GEORGE

JAMES

WILLIAM

NOAH

ALFIE

JOSHUA

HENRY

LEO

FREDDIE

ALEXANDER

ARCHIE

ETHAN

JOSEPH

SAMUEL

FINLEY

DANIEL

LOGAN

LUCAS

ISAAC

MAX

MASON

BENJAMIN

14

1

2

3

4

5

6

8

7

9

10

11

12

13

15

16

20

22

17

18

19

21

36

24

23

30

25

26

29

28

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

AMELIA

LILY

OLIVIA

SOPHIA

ISLA

EMILY

AVA

POPPY

ISABELLA

EVIE

ELLA

JESSICA

RUBY

SOPHIE

ISABELLE

MIA

GRACE

SCARLETT

LAYLA

SIENNA

MAYA

CHLOE

FREYA

DAISY

DARCEY

PHOEBE

HOLLY

MOLLY

MILLIE

CHARLOTTE

1

9

2

12

3

4

6

5

7

14

16

8

15

10

18

13

11

17

38

20

45

19

21

24

72

22

39

41

29

23

Grouping Methodology:

There is a fine line between the pronunciation and spellings of many names, which cause problems when combining spellings. Is Masie a Macy or a Maisie? Should Emma-Leigh be counted among the Emmas, or the Emilys? Realistically, the pronunciation of many names are very subjective and it's almost always the vowels that cause problems.

Some names are homonymous, having the same pronunciation but a different origin. Cameron is a Scottish surname, Kamran is a Persian name, however, in "the classroom test" they would both respond to "KAM-ron." Given also that the multitude of variant spellings make it impossible to know which parents are using Kamran as the Persian name, and which are using it as an alternate spelling of Cameron, the two cannot be accurately serparated.

I have grouped the spellings in a way that I felt reflect the same sound. For full disclosure, I have listed all the variations, in order of their individual rank, to give a full picture of all the spellings that have been coined. I have also included the birth count of each name so that, should you want to take certain spellings out of a category, you can adjust the rankings easily yourself.

Why isn't Charlie with Charles?:

Most frequently I'm asked why I don't put diminutives with their formal counterparts. The problem is, its a slippery slope. Tom, Tommy and Thomas may go nicely together, but would Teddy go with Edward or Theodore, given that it can be used as a nickname for both. Then there's Ellie or Ella. Would they go together? Separately? With Eleanor? Or Eloise?

Given that some children with formal names are never called by a nickname, it seems more obvious to me to keep the spellings in homonyms only.

Problematic names:

Alicia - As Alicia can be either be pronounced with a "liss" or a "leesh" sound, it is impossible to know exactly how many of the 313 parents who named their daughter Alicia in 2014 are using the former, or the latter, pronunciation. Does Alicia belong with Alisha, or should they be kept separate? And where do Elecia and Elysia fit in? I have opted to keep the two separate, grouping "ia" variants with Alicia (putting it at #85) and "sh" variants with Alisha (putting it at #121). If, however, the two spellings were added together, Alisha/Alicia would rank #52.

Emilia - It is difficult putting Emilia in the same category as Amelia. Many feel that Amelia and Emilia have a different style, yet while that is true, they do, nonetheless, have the same (or incredibly similar) pronunciation. If you keep Emilia and Amelia separate, however, where would Emelia go? Or Amilia?I have placed the two in the same group (as I feel the majority of Brits pronounce them both ə-MEE-lee-ə). If Emilia, Emilija, Emilia-Rose, Emilia-Rae, Emillia and Emiliya were taken out, Amelia would move down to #2, and Lily would take the top spot.

Louis - Louis always proves a problem for me as there is a disagreement over pronunciation in the UK. Some named Louis are, the traditional French, LOO-ee (Louis Walsh and Louis Tomlinson, for example). However, some are the old British pronunciation Loo-iss (like Olympian Louis Smith). Personally I have met boys called Louis pronounced both ways and this leads to the problem of whether Louis should be added to Lewis or Louie. I have opted to put it with Louie. If the spelling Louis was added to Lewis, it would bump the name up from #51 to #34.

Miah - Mia or Maya? There does not seem to be a consensus on this one. I have put it with Maya (#21), but it makes little difference as if it was added to Mia (#14), Mia would still stay at the same rank.

There are many other names which were difficult to place. If you disagree with my perception, adjust the numbers accordingly from information in the full tables (see links below).

You can see the complete Top 200 Combined Spellings tables (complete with variant spellings) on these pages:

15/10/2014

Following on from yesterday's post of most popular boys' names by letter in Britain, here is the girls' equivalent. Even more so than the boys, this list shows a lot more regional variation: from Aoife in Northern Ireland, Nia in Wales or Violet in England and Wales.

Scotland and Northern Ireland release seperate statistics, while England and Wales are released together with only a top 100 for each country seperately. So as to include all regional variations, I have added the statistics from the Wales top 100 were there is sufficient data.

England & Wales

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Wales (separate)

A

Amelia (#1)Ava (#4)Alice (#27)

Ava(#6)Amelia(#8)Anna(#25)

Aoife(#7)Amelia(#8)Anna(#9)

Amelia(#1)Ava(#3)Alys(#46xn)

B

Bella(#56)Brooke(#67)Bethany(#77)

Brooke(#33)Bethany(#79)Beth(#95)

Bella(#50)Brooke(#72)Beth(#82)

Brooke(#4)Bella(#60)-

C

Chloe(#18)Charlotte(#21)Caitlin(#144)

Chloe(#12)Charlotte(#22)Cara(#64)

Chloe(#18)Cara(#22)Charlotte (#30)

Chloe(#29)Charlotte(#40)Cadi(#60)

D

Daisy(#23)Darcey(#84)Darcy(#93)

Daisy(#38)Darcy(#102)Darcey(#140)

Darcy(#83)Daisy(#89)Darcey(#103)

Daisy(#19)Darcey(#74)Darcy(#81)

E

Emily(#3)Evie(#14)Ella(#16)

Emily(#3)Ella(#9)Ellie(#14)

Emily(#1)Ella(#4)Eva(#11)

Emily (#5)Ella(#7)Evie(#12)

F

Freya(#20)Florence(#29)Faith(#74)

Freya(#18)Faith(#91)Florence(#155)

Freya(#35)Faye(#48)Faith(#56)

Freya(#22)Ffion(#24)Faith(#55)

G

Grace(#13)Georgia(#60)Gracie(#62)

Grace(#18)Georgia(#52)Gracie(#62)

Grace(#1)Georgia(#34)Gracie(#89)

Grace(#25)Gracie(#40)Georgia(#60)

H

Holly(#33)Hannah(#44)Harriet(#61)

Holly(#21)Hannah(#27)Hollie(#43)

Hannah(#22)Holly(#28)Hollie(#50)

Holly(#44)Hollie(#49)Hannah(#72)

I

Isla(#5)Isabella(#8)Isabelle(#19)

Isla(#4)Isabella(#40)Iona(#62)

Isla(#27)Isabella(#31)Isabelle(#141)

Isla(#9)Isabella(#10)Isabelle(#21)

J

Jessica(#6)Jasmine(#50)Julia(#82)

Jessica(#7)Julia(#74)Jasmine(#127)

Jessica(#9)Julia(#83)Jasmine(#86)

Jessica(#20)Jasmine(#58)-

K

Katie(#79)Keira(#110)Kayla(#169)

Katie(#28)Kayla (#45)Keira (#74)

Katie(#12)Kate(#61)Kayla(#75)

Katie(#84)--

L

Lily(#12)Lucy(#28)Layla(#31)

Lucy(#5)Lily(#11)Lacey(#29)

Lucy(#6)Lily(#17)Leah(#22)

Lily(#13)Layla(#22)Lilly(#31)

M

Mia(#10)Millie(#25)Molly(#35)

Millie(#10)Mia(#17)Molly(#45)

Mia(#16)Molly(#26)Maisie/ Megan(#45)

Mia(#8)Megan(#16)Millie(#18)

N

Niamh(#90)Nevaeh(#107)Nancy(#111)

Niamh(#42)Naomi(#105)Nicole(#106)

Niamh(#25)Nicole(#75)Naomi(#116)

Nia(#65)--

O

Olivia(#2)Orla(#132)Olive(#233)

Olivia(#2)Orla(#31)Orlaith(#123)

Olivia(#15)Orlaith(#109)Orla(#124)

Olivia(#2)__

P

Poppy(#7)Phoebe(#24)Paige(#98)

Poppy(#26)Paige(#67)Phoebe(#85)

Poppy (#37)Phoebe(#62)Paige/ Penny(#124)

Poppy(#8)Phoebe(#26)Paige(#78)

Q

Quinn(#460)Queenie(#1864)-

Quinn(#194)Qezel(#1525)Qiyana(#1525)

R

Ruby(#11)Rosie(#38)Rose(#68)

Ruby(#24)Rebecca(#36)Rosie(#56)

Ruby(#20)Rachel(#54)Rebecca(#56)

Ruby(#4)Rosie(#65)-

S

Sophie(#9)Sophia(#15)Scarlett(#17)

Sophie(#1)Sophia(#13)Skye(#41)

Sophie(#3)Sophia(#5)Sarah(#29)

Seren(#10)Sophie (#14)Sophia(#15)

T

Tilly(#86)Thea(#121)Tia(#144)

Taylor(#100)Thea(#127)Tilly(#144)

Tilly(#112)Tara(#141)Taylor(#141)

Thea(#88)Tia(#93)-

U

Una(#900)Umaiza(#1048)Umaymah(#1098)

Una(#663)Ursula(#1013)-

Una(#284)Ugne(#440)Urte(#569)

V

Violet(#78)Victoria(#88)Vanessa(#284)

Victoria(#102)Violet(#140)Vivienne(#344)

Victoria(#135)Vanessa(#234)Vanesa(#284)

W

Willow(#54)Wiktoria(#406)Wren(#528)

Willow(#79)Wiktoria(#344)Weronika(#449)

Willow(#103)Whitney(#440)Winter(#569)

Willow(#49)--

X

Xanthe(#802)Xin(#2313)Xenia(#2460)

Xin(#663)Xanthe(#1013)-

Y

Yasmin(#201)Yusra(#408)Yasmine(#569)

Yasmin(#267)Yvie(#413)Yi(#564)

Yasmin(#284)Yvie(#569)

Z

Zara(#70)Zoe(#97)Zainab(#129)

Zoe(#51)Zara(#58)Zuzanna (#138)

Zara(#45)Zoe(#63)Zuzanna(#234)

Some boxes are blank due to insufficient data. For example, there is only two 'U' names for Scotland, not because they were the only two used, but because all others were of low use and the same rank.